A Moroccan court’s decision to extradite Dr Osama al-Hasani to Saudi Arabia, where he would face unfair trial and risk being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, poses a grave danger to his life and safety.
On 10 March 2021, a Moroccan court issued a ruling that al-Hasani, a dual Saudi-Australian citizen, should be extradited to Saudi Arabia. Al-Hasani’s extradition would pose a danger to his life and safety, a danger that cannot be corrected if he is handed to the Saudi authorities.
Al-Hasani was arrested upon arrival in Morocco on 8 February 2021 and brought to trial, allegedly in relation to an extradition request from the Saudi authorities, who have filed an Interpol notice against him.
In recent years, the Saudi authorities have used violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, as was seen in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. ALQST has documented a number of other cases in which the authorities have pursued activists and dissidents abroad with the aim of kidnapping or killing them. ALQST has also documented cases where the authorities have targeted individuals abroad, including through the use of Interpol mechanisms, by bringing fabricated or exaggerated criminal charges against them.
The Saudi judicial system is neither independent nor impartial, and courts are well known for their disregard of legal safeguards, including coerced confessions being admitted as evidence in court. Torture has been practised systematically in Saudi Arabia, both to extract confessions and as a form of punishment during detention. The judiciary has sentenced many activists to harsh prison sentences under repressive laws that criminalise a range of legitimate and peaceful acts. And the Public Prosecutor continues to call for death sentences to be passed against several prisoners of conscience, including peaceful Islamic scholars Salman al-Odah and Hassan Farhan al-Maliki.
Given the serious and potential risks to al-Hasani’s personal safety should he be returned to Saudi Arabia, ALQST calls on the Moroccan authorities to halt his extradition immediately.
